DIY steering wheel skin/cover

[Dushyantha]

So my car steering wheel was degrading due to age and use since i didn't like the look of steering wheel covers attempted to make a custom steering-wheel cover from scratch. Am not very good at writing professional DIY posts so apologize if this isn't that good . suggestions are welcome if yall have any .  

Heres how it looked before.

 

Before trying this go through some youtube videos on stitching steering wheels and making custom steering wheel covers . Helps a lot.

So Heres the DIY on Making your old degraded steering wheel look like a new one .

 

Things Needed :  

• A thick needle about 1 1/2" long for stitching (The hook like needle was what i used )
• A good scissor
• Measuring tape
• Electrical tape or cellotape or any kind of tape that you can get your hands on.
• A sewing machine
• Required tools for removing the front cover of the steering wheel and airbag if equipped
• The fabric you want to wrap the steering wheel with (about 1 meter long and 1 foot wide)

Choosing the fabric -  I chose a material which is a bit stretchy so it can be stretched around the steering wheel easily . Can be purchased form any vehicle upholstering place. Dont choose a flimsy thin material because they would rip and tear when stretched and sewn

Choosing the Thread for stitching- I couldnt find anything other than sun thread and the white color nylon thread . If choosing another colour for the thread please keep in mind that the stitches should look perfect . in my case i just used the normal sewing threads in the same colour as the material . so any minor imperfections in the stitching wouldnt be noticed.

Step 1 - START MEASURING !!!! . measure the circumference, diameter, thickness and all the required lengths and widths .

Step 2 - Reduce about 2 inches of the circumference and cut out the fabric to that length, then stitch the ends together from insideout . keep the width as it is . 

Step 3 - Since the fabric i chose was very stretchy i had to test fit it several times . reduce the fabric length as much as you can until the material fits tightly around the steering wheel. I reduced almost 4 inches from the original circumference so the material stretched over the wheel and had a tight fit.

Step 4 - Start from spokes and Roughly mark out the places that need to be cut out.

Step 5 - Measure how much fabric needs to be wrapped around the wheel and reduce a very small amount according to the strechyness of the material . 

Step 6 - Take out the stitched fabric and draw lines with a ruler where it was roughly marked earlier. then keep at least an inch of material more than required and start taking out the unnecessary parts . Test fit it as much as you like coz if you cut away too much material and you would have to start all over again . The end result would be something like this.

Step 7 - Fit the cover on and then start removing the extra 1-2 inches (that was kept earlier) while the cover is fitted on the steering . Keep in mind to leave about 1cm at the edge so that it can be folded and the edge can be neatly sewn up. 

Step 8 - Sew the edges so it looks neat and also to provide a border for stitching up the cover . 

Step 9 - START STITCHING !!!! . haha thats the harder part . I found it easier to start stitching somewhere from the middle and come towards a spoke rather than starting from near one of the 3 spokes . 

 Step 10 - Remove the middle part of the steering wheel . this can be done before starting to measure up and cut the cover . Would be easier if its out of the way from first . Removal of the Airbag (If equipped) and the horn differs from vehicle to vehicle . if its one without an airbag its just a simple deal of removing some screws, but if its an airbag steering then you might have to get advice from a knowledgeable person about the procedure of removal. SPECIALLY IF ITS SOME EUROPEAN CAR WITH COMPLICATED ELECTRONICS because their over intelligent electronics tend to easily get fooled and go haywire by small things like a simple loose connection in a wire or a battery disconnection.

Step 11 - Stretch the cover and tape up the since its harder to sew the parts near the spokes . 

 

After stitching up everything you will be left with something similar to this .

Step 12 -  Put the end bit of the cover inside and fix the horn cover over it so that the ends are hidden. Make sure to properly tighten up all the screws.

The end result !!

 

Step 12 - THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP . SIT BACK , relax and admire the work you have done  

[Vengeance]

Job well done machan! That looks pretty neat, well worth the effort

One piece of advice to anyone following this, if your steering is equipped with an airbag you must be careful not to deploy it when removing. Even if the battery is disconnected, there are backup capacitors that can provide sufficient power for a small amount of time for the airbag to deploy in case of an emergency. An airbag deploying in front of your face is not a pleasant feeling!

Edited July 17, 2016 by Vengeance

[asrock]

Nice DIY job machan, and a good write up. Keep it up.

[Davy]

Well done! That's a pretty neat job. 

Looks like this is common on the CS Lancer. Had the same issue on my CS3 when I got it, but didn't worsen during the time I had the car, so I guess this happens as a result of parking under the hot sun regularly. 

[Dushyantha]

11 hours ago, Vengeance said:

Job well done machan! That looks pretty neat, well worth the effort

One piece of advice to anyone following this, if your steering is equipped with an airbag you must be careful not to deploy it when removing. Even if the battery is disconnected, there are backup capacitors that can provide sufficient power for a small amount of time for the airbag to deploy in case of an emergency. An airbag deploying in front of your face is not a pleasant feeling!

Hahah. Yes there is a very small possibility of the airbag deploying when everything is switched off and disconnected.  But then there is a much larger possibility of it deploying when all systems have power, everything connected and you are driving facing the airbag right?

[Davy]

11 minutes ago, Dushyantha said:

Hahah. Yes there is a very small possibility of the airbag deploying when everything is switched off and disconnected.  But then there is a much larger possibility of it deploying when all systems have power, everything connected and you are driving facing the airbag right?

Modern airbag systems are smart enough not to deploy spontaneously. The G sensor on the car needs to receive a signal in order to set off the airbag(s). So, unless there is a fault in the system, airbags will not deploy.

On the CS Lancer, the G sensor is behind the dashboard, towards the centre of the car.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Davy

[Jor-el]

39 minutes ago, Davy said:

Modern airbag systems are smart enough not to deploy spontaneously. The G sensor on the car needs to receive a signal in order to set off the airbag(s). So, unless there is a fault in the system, airbags will not deploy.

On the CS Lancer, the G sensor is behind the dashboard, towards the centre of the car.

Speaking of airbags, Did any authorized agent in SL recall the cars they sold due to the Takata mass airbag recall? 

http://www.ibtimes.com/takata-airbag-recall-honda-calls-back-784000-vehicles-japan-2379999

Edited July 18, 2016 by Jor-el

[Dushyantha]

Yes they have.  But the owners are only informed about this if they visit the agents.  So most people would miss this i guess.

[s.madura]

Wow well done. as others said. pretty neat job like right out of the factory.

I know how hard this is after my failed attempt. Davy you might have noticed 

[Davy]

45 minutes ago, s.madura said:

Wow well done. as others said. pretty neat job like right out of the factory.

I know how hard this is after my failed attempt. Davy you might have noticed 

Honestly, I think it's a lot better than how it used to look before. Maybe you can get some help from Dushyantha now.

[Dushyantha]

haha . Yep IT WAS HARD !!!  but the outcome is definitely worth the effort . and i only had to spend about 200 rs (150rs for the material and 50rs for the needles and stuff) for the job . cheaper than buying a normal steering wheel cover .  

[terrabytetango]

Fabulous bit of work. This will be my next project for the Starlet.

[sathyajithj99]

Well done Dushyantha! 

 

[MAS]

Neat job. Well worth the effort and patience.

Just one thing...its too late now but did you apply any multi-bond adhesive to the inside of the cover lining ?  I feel after some usage the cover might twist a little around the steering wheel since only friction is holding it properly wrapped around. 

[Dushyantha]

3 hours ago, MAS said:

Neat job. Well worth the effort and patience.

Just one thing...its too late now but did you apply any multi-bond adhesive to the inside of the cover lining ?  I feel after some usage the cover might twist a little around the steering wheel since only friction is holding it properly wrapped around. 

Thanks  . And Nop . didnt apply any adhesive since i wasnt exactly sure untill the last moment on how this would turn out  no adhesive is really needed since everything fits tightly . i like to keep it like that so for some reason if i wanted to revert back to original , then its always easily possible

still havent noticed any twisting , however since you mentioned i checked if it can be twisted . the cover was sewn tightly so it doesn't twist unless you purposely hold it and twist like when wringing clothes. I remember that i once had a steering wheel cover which sometimes rotated around the wheel if turned hard . nothing like that happens since the cover is sewn to the 3 spokes .